PDB to PICON Converter

Convert PDB to PICON format online — fast and simple

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Any Device, Any OS

Desktop, laptop, tablet, phone — the converter handles PDB to PICON equally well on every device and operating system.

Quality Preserved

Your original PDB content is preserved in the PICON result. The conversion process does not introduce unwanted artifacts.

Easy to Use

No expertise needed — the PDB to PICON converter walks you through upload, format selection, and download step by step.

How to convert PDB to PICON

Select files from Computer, Google Drive, Dropbox, URL or by dragging it on the page.

Choose picon or any other format you need as a result (more than 200 formats supported)

Let the file convert and you can download your picon file right afterwards

About formats

PDB (Palm Database) is a generic database container format created by Palm, Inc. for the Palm OS platform, first appearing with the original PalmPilot in March 1996. In the ebook context, PDB files most commonly use the PalmDOC or Plucker encoding to store readable text with basic formatting. The format consists of a 78-byte header identifying the database name, creation date, and record count, followed by a record index table and the data records themselves. PalmDOC-encoded PDB files use a simple LZ77-based compression scheme to pack plain text efficiently, while Plucker extends this with HTML rendering, image support, and hyperlink navigation. PDB ebooks powered a thriving mobile reading ecosystem years before dedicated e-readers existed — millions of Palm OS users carried entire libraries on devices like the Palm V, Tungsten, and Treo handhelds. A primary advantage is extreme simplicity: the flat record structure and minimal overhead mean PDB files parse instantly even on severely constrained hardware with limited memory and processing power. The open, well-documented structure is another strength, having spawned numerous reader applications across Palm OS, Windows, and later mobile platforms. Though the Palm platform is long discontinued, PDB ebooks remain accessible through conversion tools and readers like Calibre, and the format holds historical significance as one of the earliest practical mobile ebook solutions.

Developer: Palm, Inc.

Initial release: March 1996

PICON (Personal Icon) is a small-format image type used in the X Window System ecosystem, developed by Steve Kinzler at Indiana University around 1990 as part of the picons (personal icons) database project. Picons are small, typically 48x48 pixel, color images used as visual identifiers for people, organizations, domains, and Usenet newsgroups in Unix mail readers, news readers, and other communication tools. The picon format is essentially an XPM (X PixMap) image stored with specific naming conventions and directory structures that allow software to look up the appropriate icon based on email address, domain name, or newsgroup name. The picons database organized thousands of these small images in a hierarchical directory structure keyed by domain name components (e.g., faces/com/example/user.xpm), enabling mail clients like exmstrstrstr and faces to automatically display a sender's photo or organizational logo alongside their messages. The system predated the modern concept of contact photos and avatars by more than a decade. One advantage is the system's pioneering role in visual identity for electronic communication: picons introduced the idea that email and Usenet messages should display a visual representation of the sender — a concept that eventually became standard in every modern email client, messaging app, and social media platform. The XPM-based format ensures that picons are displayable on any system with X Window libraries. Picon images are supported by ImageMagick, GIMP, and X Window display utilities, and the historical picons database remains archived online at Indiana University.

Developer: Steve Kinzler

Initial release: 1990

Frequently Asked Questions

Why convert PDB to PICON?

Moving from PDB to PICON gives you small pixmap icon — essential when you need your legacy Palm data in a widely supported format.

What programs open PICON files?

For PICON files, try ImageMagick, Unix desktop environments. Cross-platform support means you can view them on any operating system.

Do I need to create an account to convert?

No account is needed for standard conversions. Just upload your PDB file, pick PICON, and download the result.

Does the converter work on mobile devices?

Yes — the PDB to PICON converter is fully browser-based and works on phones, tablets, and desktop computers equally well.

Will image dimensions change during conversion?

No — the converter keeps the same image size. Dimensions only change if you explicitly set resize options.

Is the conversion process secure?

Security is built in — source PDB files and converted PICON outputs are automatically removed from servers after processing.

Related Conversions

PDB to PDF

PDB to EPUB

PDB to MOBI

PDB to DOC

PDB to JPG

PDB to SVG

PDB to DOCX

PDB to TXT

PDB to FB2

PDB to GIF

PDB to XLS

PDB to PNG

PDB to RTF

PDB to CSV

PDB to XLSX

PDB to JPEG

PDB to DXF

PDB to PPT

PDB to PPTX

PDB to ODT

PDB to HTML

PDB to AI

PDB to PS

PDB to TIFF

PDB to PLT

PDB to AZW3

PDB to WBMP

PDB to BMP

PDB to WEBP

PDB to DDS

PDB to SNB

PDB to DOCM

PDB to PSD

PDB to JP2

PDB to LRF

PDB to PBM

PDB to RB

PDB to TCR

PDB to TGA

PDB to PCX

PDB to ICO

PDB to CUR

PDB to PGM

PDB to PPM

PDB to EXR

PDB to FAX

PDB to FTS

PDB to G3

PDB to HDR

PDB to HRZ

PDB to IPL

PDB to MAP

PDB to MNG

PDB to MTV

PDB to OTB

PDB to PAL

PDB to PALM

PDB to PAM

PDB to PCD

PDB to PCT

Specific converters

ICO to PICON

PNG to PICON

JPG to PICON

HTML to PICON

JPEG to PICON

BMP to PICON

PDF to PICON

SVG to PICON

JFIF to PICON

WEBP to PICON

TXT to PICON

WMF to PICON

XLSX to PICON

PSD to PICON

GIF to PICON

DOCX to PICON

AVIF to PICON

XPS to PICON

ABW to PICON

DBK to PICON

KWD to PICON

SXW to PICON

AW to PICON

3FR to PICON

ARW to PICON

CR2 to PICON

CRW to PICON

CUR to PICON

DCM to PICON

DCR to PICON